1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved device for pulling dents. More particularly it relates to a device for pulling dents from automobiles and other metallic objects which are prone to dents and surface aberrations. The disclosed device is used in combination with a conventional welder and temporarily attaches to the surface of the metallic auto or other body being repaired at an attachment point at the distal end of an elongated laterally translating rod. Translation of the attached rod pulls the dented surface in the direction of the smooth surface of the body being repaired a user determined distance thereby pulling the dent out. A simple twist of the attached electrode detaches the device from the body. The device features a plurality of face plates each having a different diameter center aperture as well as a plurality of different electrodes of different metals to provide the user a user configurable system of dent pulling for different metallic bodies and different sized dents.
2. Prior Art
Automobiles traverse the highways and byways of most nations on earth and with the millions of drivers and vehicles moving on the roads, collisions are inevitable. The result being dents and other imperfections appearing in the surface of auto and truck bodies from such collisions. Additional indents in the surfaces of autos and trucks can be caused in parking lots from the opening of adjacent vehicle doors which collide with the car in the next stall or from driver error causing the car or truck being driven to encounter road and parking lot hazards such as pipes, rails, and abutments.
Modern vehicles feature a number of improvements over vehicles manufactured earlier in the century in the ever increasing quest to manufacture lighter vehicles to increase gas mileage. One such improvement is the use of ever thinner sheet metal to form the car or truck body. Thinner metal structures inherently dent easier. Another improvement in recent years is the use of alloys of steel that are lighter or aluminum to form the actual body panels. Again, these metals yield the desired weight reduction in the vehicle but are easily dented and hard to repair.
Repair of damaged vehicle surfaces and panels is conventionally performed in auto body repair shops. In prior years, pulling a dent or surface imperfection from a vehicle body panel involved the use of a slap hammer which essentially was a pole with a screw on one end and a large weight slidably located about the outside of the pole. The screw end was screwed through the dented vehicle panel and the weight translated on the pole to a stop on the end opposite the screw. The Resulting force on the stop was translated to the screw and pulled the dent toward the rest of the surface of the vehicle body panel. The holes created in the panel surface and any leftover surface imperfections where then repaired with body repair paste that applied to the panel. As is obvious, this type of repair frequently yielded results worse than the dent itself since the body panel now had a paste applied to the exterior and user-created holes in the surface from the slap hammer.
To avoid the use of such devices and repair paste, sometimes dents in vehicle surfaces can be removed by using specially configured tools to pound on the rear surface of the dent. However, this is a very time consuming procedure due to the limited access to the rear surfaces of dents. Further the results are directly proportional to the skill of the repair person and most dents in double walled vehicle bodies do not yield access to the rear surface which is blocked by the second wall.
Another popular device for removal of surface dents in vehicles operates by temporarily attaching a device to the body panel at the dent. When not actually screwed into the body panel such temporary attachment devices generally weld to the surface.
One such device is depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,501 (Sunaga) which uses a slap or slide hammer combined with an arc electrode which attaches to the vehicle body surface at the dent. Sunaga however still uses a slide hammer for the force to move the dent and is consequently hard to use since it is hard to calculate the exact amount of force to slide the hammer. Too much force will yield a protrusion in the vehicle body surface when the dent is over pulled or will cause detachment of the electrode.
Another device for removing dents of more modern design is U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,486 (Ishihara). This device features an attachable electrode and handle activated by the user to draw the dent from the surface of the vehicle. However Ishihara is heavy due to its design using many machined parts and is hard to operate with the required manipulation of a plurality of handles along with the need to touch the tip of the tool to the surface and then activate the attached welder while holding the device in place. Further, Ishihara provides no easy manner to adjust the size of the contact surface of the device around the electrode which is necessary when trying to fix the wide variety of shapes and depths of dents in vehicles. Rather, the support legs must be removed and replaced with other such legs in a time-consuming process caused by the design.
Thus, there is a continuing need for improvement in devices used in the field of dent repair and a device that is easily attached to a conventional welder and operated concurrently therewith. Such a device should provide for a plurality of support surfaces around the translating electrode that are easily attached and removed during use to accommodate different sized dents. Such a device should also be inexpensive to manufacture and be lightweight so the operator does not become fatigued by the use of a heave tool. Finally such a device should have an easily adjusted and controlled amount of lateral translation of the attached electrode to allow the user to adjust for the optimum draw of the dent toward the undamaged surface without over drawing the dent.
The applicant""s device is a component interchangeable dent drawing device which features easy attachment to a conventional welder and operation concurrently therewith.
The disclosed device features an easily adjustable laterally translateable electrode that is attached to a vehicle body using the current from a welder attached to the opposite end of the shaft on which the electrode is mounted. Simple adjustment of the amount of lateral translation of the shaft and hence the mounted electrode is achieved using a means of adjustment of electrode translation depicted as a frictionally engaged collar which is tightened to an operating position by a knob. The user thus can easily adjust the amount of lateral translation with the twist of a knob, even while the device is already attached to a vehicle.
Further utility is provided by a plurality of face plates which are easily attached to a mounting face at the electrode end of the body member. The face plates use a removable means of attachment such as pins which cooperatively engage clips on the mounting face to allow the plate to be easily replaced during use of the device.
Additional utility is allowed by the provision of a plurality of electrodes which cooperatively engage with the electrode end of the elongated shaft. Each of the electrodes can vary by shape or by the material encased in an axial bore at the tip to provide the ability to attach to different metals. Using steel inside he axial bore provides the ability to attach the electrode to a steel vehicle body. Using copper in the axial bore provides the ability to heat the surface of the vehicle body and avoid attachment but concurrently smooth the heated body surface more easily. Using aluminum in the axial bore allows for the attachment of an optional grommet to an aluminum body panel which can then be pulled by a separate tool to remove the dent. The device thus can be used on aluminum or steel vehicle bodies to draw or to heat and smooth dents in the surface by simply changing the electrode and adjusting the lateral translation.
It is an object of this invention is to provide a dent pulling device that is easily attachable to steel or aluminum vehicle bodies for removal of dents.
Another objective of this invention is the provision of a dent pulling device that has an easily adjusted amount of lateral translation of the attached device to provide precision in the drawing of dents.
A further objective of this invention is the provision of a dent pulling device that features the easy attachment and replacement of a plurality of face plates with differently configured internal apertures to allow for easy adjustment of the retained body surface around a dent.
Still, another objective of this invention is the provision of a dent pulling device used in combination with a welder, that allows for the easy concurrent activation of the welder when using the disclosed device.
An additional object of this invention is the provision of a lightweight and easily manufactured dent pulling device that is easily attachable to a wide variety of welders used in combination herewith.
Further objectives of this invention will be brought out in the following part of the specification, wherein detailed description is for the purpose of fully disclosing the invention without placing limitations thereon.